How does Molluscum Contagiosum develop?

The molluscum develops 2-3 weeks after a person has become infected with the virus.   Typically, each molluscum last about 6-12 weeks, crusts over and then disappears. However, new ones tend to appear as the old ones are disappearing so the virus can spread to other areas of the skin. Therefore crops of mollusca come and go for several months. It commonly takes 12-18 months before the last of the mollusca go completely. Occasionally the condition lasts longer than two years, sometimes as long as five years.  

For most people the main concern is the mollusca can look unsightly. Mollusca are not usually itchy or painful and a scar is not usually left when they disappear but occasionally a tiny indent scar remains similar to that left after Chicken Pox. After the episode of molluscum contagiosm has cleared away sufferers are normally immune to the virus and further episodes rarely occur.

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